Description of a Physical Therapist Job

A physical therapist’s role in the recovering of people from injuries is to help rebuild strength and movement in the parts of their bodies that are hurt. Many people who suffer from accidents or become disabled through an illness seek a physical therapist. You might go see a physical therapist if you are an injured athlete looking for rehabilitation, if you are an elderly person to make daily life tasks easier, after surgery to help your recovery, or even from an impairing disease over the long-term. Physical therapy is no new practice; in fact it has been around since around 460 B.C. according to the National Archives and Records Administration. A physical therapist’s priority is to examine your current state of injury and make a treatment plan based off of that. There are many places you will find a practicing physical therapist. They may be found in hospitals, outpatient clinics, in sports, and nursing homes just to name a few. Physical therapists are important in the sports field especially, they help athletes to recover quicker and get them back in the game. According to APTA physical therapists are experiencing amazing employment conditions with just a 0.2% unemployment rate and the employment rate is expected to grow by 39% from 2010 to 2020. To become a physical therapist, one must graduate from an accredited education program and then pass a state-administered exam. A physical therapist may have assistant practicing under them who deliver their treatments to the patients under the supervision of the physical therapist.

The history of physical therapy dates all the way back to around 460 B.C. when it was first proposed. The first physicians Hippocrates Galenus were the first practitioners of physical therapy, advocatin...

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...ote a healthy lifestyle. These settings are most likely fitness centers and or sports training facilities but there is any number of other places physical therapists can be found.

Injuries can be common while participating in organized sports, competitions, training exercises, or fitness activities says Darice Britt. “Poor training methods, inadequate warm-up, and lack of conditioning are a few of the causes of sports injuries.” (Britt) Although on the other hand, Apostolos Theophilou, DPT, clinical coordinator of the Physical Therapist Assisting program at South University says that Injuries can be caused by a combination of those things, not necessarily the only reasons. “Fatigue and overuse are also significant contributors to an injury, and not excluding also the psychosocial aspects and dehydration that cause athletes to be prone to injuries.” (Theophilou)